Americans love their dogs. We spend billions of dollars on their toys and treats and veterinary visits. Some of us treat them like beloved, if excessively hairy, children — indeed, might even prefer them to the human variety. And why not? Who can deny the unwavering affection of a cute pooch? The bond is steel. Woof!
Dog allergies, however, are nothing to sneeze at. Yes, they can cause sneezing, among a slew of symptoms like watery eyes, nasal congestion and coughing. In extreme cases, these reactions can be severe.
To many people, their immune system makes dog ownership impossible.
But now researchers at Japan’s Osaka Prefecture University are opening the door to the possibility of a dog allergy vaccine. The hope is that a vaccination might one day inoculate us against a dog allergen the way other vaccines fight a dangerous virus or bacteria.
Japanese scientists focused on the most common of the seven known dog allergens, known as CAN F-1. It’s a protein found in a dog’s saliva and skin that causes up to three-quarters of all allergies. Researchers used X-ray crystallography to study its structure, searching for those parts of the protein that trigger the immune response. Researchers say this has never been done before.
They found areas of CAN F-1 that might harbor these triggers. More research is needed. But investigators say a vaccination might one day deliver small doses of these pieces of the protein, essentially training the immune system to not stage an overblown reaction to the allergen.
In a sense, we’d be training our immune system to behave, kind of like teaching a 150-pound Great Dane not to jump on the sofa.